Re: [WAI-IG] Serving my page in the right language

> >In the first place, even in the absence of explicit user choice, the
> >browser already has a clue based on the language set in the operating
> >system and desktop.
> >
> >In the second place (and in the real world), ISPs and system
> >administrators will pre-configure language preferences to local
> >norms on behalf of users.

Browsers do need to get better at presenting this choice to people, and better
at allowing people to create user stylesheets and a whole bunch of features
that are user-configurable.

> My downstairs neighbor, who is Mexican, never had a clue she could set her 
> *keyboard* to use Spanish instead of Dutch. She shares the computer with 
> her daughter who is more fluent in Dutch than in Spanish. Even if they know 
> they can set the browser to a language preference - which would they 
> choose? Their browser certainly doesn't have a clue what their preferences
> are.

I would imagine that she would use es-MX, es-*, nl and her daughter would use
nl, es-MX, es-*. Once this had been set up it should just be a matter of which
log-in the are using. It's setting it up in the first place that needs
improvement from the browser manufacturers.

-- 
Jon Hanna
<http://www.hackcraft.net/>
"…it has been truly said that hackers have even more words for
equipment failures than Yiddish has for obnoxious people." - jargon.txt

Received on Monday, 22 March 2004 06:01:03 UTC